Dear Readers: I’m happy to take a tiny break from hosting your questions, as I devote this column to my annual literacy campaign, now in its 13th year. This is where I urge readers to celebrate the gift-giving season by putting “A Book on Every Bed.”

All literacy starts with a story, and the inspiring story behind this effort came to me from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, whose charmed and productive life was entirely shaped by the sharing of books and stories, starting early in his childhood.